About the SMK that was designed to fit the seat leg of HAECO’s Vector series economy seating, David Kelly, vice-president, Marketing and Strategy, HAECO, said, “These products make use of innovative materials and lower part count to reduce weight. Through their efficient design, these products also offer greater durability and lower lifetime maintenance cost.”

The SMK is designed to reduce components down to just two spar-mounted boxes for single or double jacks and a USB seat power box that powers both boxes, thereby decreasing installation cost and time for airlines, and preventing the seat box from infringing on passenger legroom. “Airlines can essentially introduce passenger power to their cabin with an overnight install,” said David Withers, chief executive of digEcor.

digEcor has also deployed enhancements to its ENGAGE mobile platform for airline crewmembers, which was most recently adopted by Air Tahiti Nui. The platform is designed to increase operational efficiency by keeping ground and cabin crew connected through electronic reporting. New functionalities include pre-flight briefing, which allows crewmembers to upload files and push data to flights according to criteria such as arrival airport, aircraft type or date – even a yet-to-board passenger list.

Updates to ENGAGE include an iPhone version; crew profiles, including flight history, language abilities and other qualifications; and point-of-sale functionality, including Bluetooth integration with a portable card reader POS terminal, and reporting abilities on passenger purchases and stock usage.

According to Eric Delcuvellere, cabin crew department manager, Air Tahiti Nui, “Processing all the information brought by the core flight report used to be a question of days. It is now a question of hours and in some instances only minutes. Better still, sometimes literally even instantaneous!”

“Our focus is always on how we enable airlines to provide the best and most memorable experiences for their passengers,” said Withers. “ENGAGE genuinely delivers this in abundance, offering the tools and knowledge to cabin crew to preempt the personal needs of every customer, every time.”